Traditions
by Naoko Asakura
Summary: In the Smith household, new additions are being added to the daily routine. RD.
1. Adding To Tradition

_That piano…_

It doesn't really bother me anymore, the way she plays the piano just when I'm about to pass the point of sleeping and transcending to what people call "sleeping in". Sometimes, I'll even just lay awake in bed… Waiting until I hear the tell-tale flutter of her fingers working the piano over with so much precision that she really can't be human.

She isn't. She's an android, for people who aren't familiar with my lifestyle. Somehow, I find myself telling her this fact constantly. It should hurt her feelings, if she has any. Telling her every other day is more to remind myself that she's just an android.

Because to me, she's not just an android. No, I don't consider her human, either. She's something so much more than either of those… Androids aren't supposed to have feelings. Appliances don't reflect human emotions. Yet somehow, she's shown me- Proven to me that they do. Or maybe she **is** different. Maybe she's surpassed what it is to be an android and gained everything a human should be. She might be caught in a limbo between woman and machine, and she might be crushed by the cruelty of reality.

I can't deny that my heart broke for her a little, just now. A surge of longing passes me over like a crashing wave. I want her to be happy, if possible. I want her to stay here with me, in this dismal manner where the dress code is black. She always teases me for it, but I'm a creature of habit.

It's so hard to break habits, you know? I thought that the ache in my chest was a habit… No, I'm not that stupid… I tried to **convince** myself that it was a bad habit that I needed to kick. Who starts bad habits just because of a person though?

Oops, there I go. I just called her a person. This train of thought is heading towards a forbidden zone fast. So I think I'll officially wake up now.

I expected myself to open the door into the hallway, walking at a speedy pace until I reach the piano foyer, where all of the sudden it looks like my body has shifted into another time dimension. Feigning grogginess as I rounded the corner, I caught sight of her. I open my mouth to complain, but stop myself to observe her in silence. It's the least bit of indulgence I can give myself before launching off with my routine as-per-usual.

It's impossible to say that she hadn't noticed me. She has sensors, so she knew I was there. Maybe she decided to hold back from beginning the day too, but either way, she continued to play. The song she plays swells to it's climax, spilling over me. She really is a genius of the piano... It's just the mornings. I can't help wanting to sleep in, right?

My attention shifted from the music to the enigma whose fingers glided over the black and white keys as if they were born to be there. She appeared almost human, her eyes closed as if relishing the feeling of pouring her entire being into that moment of grace. It's time like these when I love her the most.

Without thinking, I closed the distance. The next thing I knew, her eyes were open, not staring through me as they usually did in the mornings. It was more inquisitive, as if she had no desire to collect any sort of data on my mannerisms as a human. Maybe she was genuinely curious as to why the traditions of the early hours had been broken.

_It's a little cliché… But my heart, my soul burns for you._

The silence broke with the sudden screech of the bench being pushed back, and I sat down beside her. We moved the seat back in, my knees brushing the underbelly of the piano. I felt her beside me, our sides touching. Her fingers rushed again to the keys, only this time playing a simpler and softer melody. Even closer than I was before, I looked on. Silence.

_Just for you._

I still don't know what song it was that she played. Every morning now, we take one more step in our routine. It's just another addition to our daily tradition, but sitting with her and watching her play is mostly what I wake up for now.

We have reached… An understanding.

**The End.

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_**Disclaimer: I don't own Big O. Don't kill meeee**_

_**Author's Note: Yes, I'm making a second part to this. I really want to.**_


	2. Breaking Tradition

_This has been going on for a while, now._

That time, I woke up, and I didn't hear her playing… The first thing I did, of course is look at the clock on my nightstand. The breath I had been holding escaped me, realizing that it'd been just another one of my "miracle" mornings. I had approximately ten minutes until she began her song. That left me ten minutes to muse upon whatever entered my head.

…And it's no surprise. She just happened to be the first thing. Lately, I had been considering my thoughts on her as my guiltiest of pleasures. Perhaps I'm a little over-indulgent, but I'm only human. I can't negotiate with myself. Anyways-

A few days before that, I had this really strange epiphany.

It just kind of happened. I was out on business, and I happened to run into an acquaintance. He hadn't seen her in a while, so he asked how she'd been doing. A few hours after we finished our little exchange, I realized that all this time, I've been referring to that silly android as a 'she' or 'her'. It's just that she's so much like a girl. Plus, everyone else addresses her as such, so it's not like I can really help it.

Not to mention it'd be a really big insult to her if I started making her sound like any other home appliance. Calling her 'it' wouldn't be the least bit flattering. Then again, she **is** supposed to be an appliance. Treating her as such would make me feel like she's my slave, and that's a pretty dirty feeling.

I looked at the clock again. Two more minutes. She should have been dressed by that point, making her way to the piano foyer from her room. Come to think of it- I didn't think I'd visited her room in a while. I wondered what it looked like since she's made herself a resident here. Then again, reason told me that she'd probably left it just the way it was before. That's kind of a disappointing thought, since I thought I'd have liked to go in there to see what her personal touch has done… Maybe I'd see if she really is humanlike inside as well as out.

Alright, I'll admit that even I can be a little crazy sometimes. It's just so hard to try and go against myself when the circumstances are this important. I'd already admitted to myself how much I need her here with me. I had decided a while ago that I wouldn't bother to wrestle with my emotions anymore. What's more, I felt like a complete ass for realizing all of this so late in the game. Especially with all of Norman's not-so-subtle teasing hints.

The air felt a lot thinner when I realized that she was late to the piano. Panicked questions flooded my mind as I leapt from my bed. Was there something wrong? She could have over exerted herself and blown a fuse last night… Or worse. I ground my teeth when I envisioned Beck's stupid shit-eating grin, his triumph over me all because I had to stay in bed a few moments longer.

The hallway felt a lot longer, and in my unusually aggressive state, I could sense everything around me. The wood underneath my bare feet made a dull slapping noise as I tore into the foyer. I could hear myself breathing in my head. The cavernous quality of the room chilled me with the morning air, and a lock of my hair was itching my nose. This was of the least importance though.

There she stood. Her back was against the piano, and she looked as if she had been there just waiting.

I'm not proud to say that something inside of me overtook me- Yes, that would include my rationality and conscience. Even so, the next events to unfold will always be with me. I'm not the biggest romantic, but that moment was so achingly sweet…

Relief clouded my exhausted senses, and I rushed forward and took her in my arms. For the amount of times I'd carried her (or at least tried), never had she felt so light. She didn't seem to react, but as I said before, I wasn't completely there either. The next thing I knew, I had pinned her to the piano with close proximity, my mouth on hers. I locked everything about her away in my memory… The way her hand felt when I closed it in mine, the way her face and hair felt as I slid my fingers through it… I even made a mental note to buy her better clothing, when the stiff fabric of her usual black dress touched my skin.

Everything else is lost to me. Yet she was so clear. Her reaction to me only made it more difficult to break myself away from that dizzying feeling of being completely lost to her charms.

It was too soon when I broke away, my breath ragged. Her face looked startlingly human as she smiled at me. Before that, I believed that winning a smile from her was impossible. Now, it's a more often occurrence, though she only lets me see. I stepped away from her so that she could stand straight, my eyes never leaving her face.

"Dorothy, I-"

The sudden gesture of her fingers lacing with mine silenced me as she led me around the piano to the bench. I was completely confused when she pushed me to sit down. Disappointment and doubt took me when she dropped my hand to go for the smooth keys in front of us, but then she started playing a song I'd never heard before.

Minutes stretched, flooded by the soft sound of her music echoing off the walls of the room. When she finally did speak, it was without eye contact. Was it even possible for her to feel bashful?

"I made this for you, Roger Smith," She murmured, voice monotone. "Since I wasn't created to express myself very well."

I could have said anything. Instead, I scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. I looked on, almost dazed by the hypnotizing motion of her pale fingers trailing across the keys. It was a love song. Definitely.

"…Don't worry about it. I wasn't, either."

_I've never been so happy to break rule or tradition._

_**FIN.

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_**Remember! I don't own Big O/3**_

_**What did you guys think?**_

_**Thanks, people who reviewed the first part!**_


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